I will be 30 next month and will (definitely) still be single (as in not married), regardless all the questions asked (really, Indonesians meddle in other’s business too much). The most important thing is I’m happy with my life.

Here are some things that I’m grateful of:

I have to admit that I was really broken after my last breakup, but later after I moved on, I was and am always happy and free. Those feelings are not buyable.

If I had gotten married at the age of 27, which I initially planned and dreamed of, I will not get these:

realization of who my real friends are and how amazing they really are

In contrary to what I had always said to people around me, I finally decided to start gym membership back in October last year, with the hope of getting bored after 6 months and signed myself off then. The thought of applying for gym came after: I got easily tired during my Komodo trip (the trip really demanded for physical fitness) and I hung out with Tata very much (she had started being this athletic since her last ex-boyfriend at that time).

30 day home workout plan for those who don’t have time for gym

It wasn’t my first time signing up for gym – I was a gym member back in 2010, where the gym was located on the upper level of my office back then, but signed myself off after only 6 months of joining due to the irregularity of me working out (I worked as an engineer who had to visit customers now and then) – so I was a bit pessimistic that I would actually pass my first 6 months. A lot of friends would all be very sporty that they could exercise 4-5 times a week during their first month and stop exercising after a couple of months of subscription. Looking at the pattern, I decided not to be too sporty, keeping working out at my own pace and not forcing myself to the gym if I don’t feel like it. Here I am now, still a proud member of the gym who only exercises 2x a week (with additional 1x session on the weekend per month): 1x self exercising + 1x joining class (my favorite is body balance).

What Tata told me before we subscribed is proved, even though I was initially more stable physically and mentally than her: my mood swing is getting better, I’m less prone to sickness and tiredness, and less emotional than ever (well, I can’t figure out if the last point is because of me exercising regularly or simply getting older).

I came to the conclusion that maybe everyone really needs to find things to balance himself. Sitting on your desk at office, staring at your computer all day, arguing with colleagues, and driving furiously facing the worst traffic jam can really consume you off. Other than the normal movie/music/alcohol/nightclub-hitting, you can start getting healthy by working out. 🙂

It wasn’t until I took the PMP preparation training back in November 2014 that I was aware of the existence of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It was briefly explained in the 5th Edition of Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK) Chapter 9: Human Resource Management.

It is often depicted as a pyramid, read from bottom to the top, implying that one cannot reach the upper level before the lower level need(s) is fulfilled.

I was 27 years old when I joined the training in 2014, very much confident and fulfilled my esteem needs. The only thing I hadn’t accomplished was self-actualization, the top of Maslow’s pyramid. Hence, I was aiming for a PMP certification for my self-actualization (which I accomplished in early 2015).

Honestly speaking, I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like being the best in class. I’d prefer being a runner up, because that way I will have a goal for myself: beating the top of class. I love competition as much as I love eating and traveling.

Without second guessing, after I got my certification in 2015, I became a little demotivated, even until now, and keep aiming for more. I even ended my career as a project manager and started giving myself another career challenge (which didn’t work out, and got me back to project management world LOL).

There is no regret since everything that happened has given me lots of unmeasurable experience, but it looks like I need to find myself another self-actualization goals to keep myself motivated. Any idea?

I have to admit that my blog posts haven’t been so varied lately that I was so consumed with work. Now that I’ve made (again) another career move, I wish that I will have more time to spend having fun and updating this blog.

For those of you (I really wish you guys exist) who visit this blog regularly, you must be aware that I’ve become a travel addict since 2014 (well, since the bad break up that I had to go to places where my ex and I had never been to) that I make my own rule of: 2x travels/year within the country + 1x travel/2-year abroad. I have never been more happy with my life with my new boyfriend, but the addiction doesn’t change. My boyfriend is a travel lover as well, so we become traveling partners (from our last trips, he let me decide and organize the trip and he’ll be more than happy being a follower).

Here’s what I’m calling: Inez’s Travel Wish List. 🙂 *going to cross off the places I’ve been to and add up the places I want to go to later on *I wish my boyfriend doesn’t read this. LOL

It hasn’t been so long since our last Komodo Trip when the gang shared a tour information to Ora Beach, and again, the decision to go for Ora Trip was impulsive. We took a 4D3N tour by Tukang Jalan this time (check their website here). Unlike the normal 1 night in kampung warga (homestay) + 1 night in Ora Resort + 1 night in Ambon (hotel) package, the (originally) 6 of us decided to pay extra cost for 2 nights in Ora Resort + 1 night in Ambon (hotel).

Our first day started at 3 AM, as again, we took the 5 AM flight in order to arrive in our destination, Pattimura Airport, Ambon, Maluku before midday, and the time difference between Jakarta and Ambon is 2 hours. Arriving at 11.35 AM local time, we had plenty of time before the scheduled 4 PM express motor boat (kapal motor cepat/KMC) took us across the sea to Seram Island. For your info, Ambon and Ora are located in 2 different islands.

Our first destination was Dedes Restaurant for lunch. The most unique thing about eating in Ambon (this statement is valid for all restaurants that we visited in Ambon) is that they put crates of fish in front of the restaurants for guests to pick their own fish and how they want the restaurant to cook it. Being curious of the local food, we tried papeda, a local carbohydrate load made of sago, had together with fish cooked in yellow soup (with local ingredients). Finished with lunch, we also had durian (‘imported’ from Seram Island) for only 20k IDR for 3 durians and rujak natsepa (the seasoning is grind together with nutmeg, which makes it unique) before sailing the boat to Seram Island.

4 chili servings in Dedes Restaurant

papeda (in the bowl with a pair of tuning fork-like sticks) with fish in yellow soup and grilled fish

rujak natsepa

The boat sailed on time at 4 PM and we safely landed in Seram Island at 6 PM. The pickup was already there when we arrived, and the amazing driver took 2 hours (driving past the totally curvy road I nearly puked due to motion sickness) – of course, it was already dark when we arrived at Saleman Village (Desa Saleman). From Saleman, we took another speed boat for approximately 15 minutes to cross to Ora Eco Resort. Yay, finally there!

At 8 AM on second day, we were already on the dock waiting for the boat to pick us up. We spent the first half day island hopping to Pulau 7 (7 islands) – the additional 1.5 MIDR/group is worth it. We didn’t exactly go to all 7 islands, but only 4 of them (…and didn’t get all the names). In the first island, we took some good pictures (the sand is white and soft). In the second we snorkeled to see the beautiful underwater life; my first time snorkeling without a life vest!! 😀 In the third, we took another good pictures with the naturally-shaped beautiful throne-like tree roots then had lunch. In the forth, we played at the beach. Finished with the 4 islands, we hopped to the other side of Ora Beach, where there was Mata Air Belanda (Dutch Spring). It is amazing how fresh water is streamed to the beach. Getting back to Ora Resort, my friends (I didn’t join as I was already exhausted) continued with snorkeling and said that the fish under the resort is similarly pretty and even more varied than those in Pulau 7.

Ora Eco Resort

We booked the tour late that we only got to stay in the land resort. Still looking good, no?

Our time on the third day was very short, remembering that we would have to head back to Ambon by the 2 PM express boat. We spent the morning taking pictures in the resort, then headed to Tebing Sawai and the mysteriously luminous cave to take more pictures. Afterwards, we went back to the resort for quick shower and lunch.

Arrived in Ambon at 4 PM, we checked in at Amans Hotel (short for ‘Ambon Manise’), then went directly for afternoon coffee at Rumah Kopi Sibu-Sibu. Other than coffee, they also served traditional snack which apparently is not too different to the ones they have in Jakarta: lepet (brown-sugar-sweet cassava steamed cake), lemper (sticky rice – only it’s stuffed with ebi – dried small prawns – instead of chicken), kue moho (traditional brown sugar cupcakes). The unique dish was sago cake (looks more like sago block instead of cake) that you have to dip into the coffee before eating – unless you want to lose some teeth. After coffee, then we had dinner and went back to the hotel.

Martha Christina Siahahu statue

World peace gong

Pintu Kota Beach

We had plenty of time on the forth day, having our flight at 6.20 PM. Hence we decided to have a short city tour. Our first destination was Martha Christina Siahahu statue located 2 km away from our hotel. Unfortunately, it wasn’t really nice taking pictures from near the statue and we had to pay to enter the garden, so we only took pictures from outside the fence. LOL. Second destination was world peace gong located right across the governor’s office, so we got to visit 2 places at once (they have this small stadium, Captain Pattimura’s statue – it’s located where Pattimura was hung, and the iconic ‘ambon manise’ in the governor’s office’s yard). Then we visited Pintu Kota beach (pintu kota = door of the city), where the coral is somehow shaped like a door, before having lunch at Ratu Gurih Restaurant (the best restaurant where we had our meals in Ambon) and afternoon coffee at Rumah Kopi Tradisi Joas. It was too sad having to go back to Jakarta, to reality, but we had to.

Overall, we are glad to be able to visit Ora Beach. East of Indonesia is never disappointing, since the sea is still quite ‘pure’ and ‘rich’. I would recommend newlyweds to visit Ora Beach for their honeymoon, since there is no mobile reception there so you will get some silent time. 😉

Trivia: we saw Glenn Fredly on our way to the port on our first day! He was about to have lunch in one of the famous seafood restaurant.

P.S.: Sorry for the messy pictures; I will update them once I get the chance to. Hopefully I won’t get too busy with work now. 🙂